Hello. '06 M45 here. 165k miles w good maintenance, new cats, except for the recent low oil during an emergency out of town. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Engine oil got too low for a few weeks and P0021(passenger bank) popped up. Topped up a 2L, cleared and came back, got full oil change, came back. Might be burning oil more quickly than usual, driveway is on an incline and I'm not sure if original measurement was correct.
P0021 doesn't reappear while driving, only after turning off after driving then turning back on within 1min.
Swapped camshaft sensors, same code.
Removed driver solenoid, was mostly clean. Used MAF sensor cleaner and a small amount of black liquid, a couple grains of rice worth, dripped out of the shaft. Tested w/ 12v supply and meter, clicked and read 8.4 Ohms.
Partially removed passenger solenoid(blocked by thermostat, need to remove entire vvt assembly to fully remove). Used MAF cleaner, but also looked clean and clicked with 12v supply added. 8.6 Ohms.
Should the next step be fully removing the VVT assembly to swap the solenoid and check the vvt gasket? Mechanic is worried that it could also be a stretched timing chain from low oil and jolt from 2nd to 3rd gear after cold start parked on a hill. Also read that it could be a different gasket that would req an engine pull.
Is there any next step that isn't major labor?
We were surprised to see that the service manual estimates 0.9hr for a dual solenoid swap and thought that Infiniti just forgot that the passenger bank is blocked and requires further disassembly.
'06 M45 P0021
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Ilya
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Re: '06 M45 P0021
Perhaps something mentioned in this thread (still new) can help you track it down?
p0021-t633079.html
p0021-t633079.html
Re: '06 M45 P0021
Thanks. I'll respond in that thread.
Re: '06 M45 P0021
So my mechanic had an emergency and didn't work on it for 3 weeks 
. The service manual shows that the solenoid swap for a pair is only 0.9hrs, which seems incorrect like they forgot the VK45 has clearance issues that block the passenger side solenoid from being a simple swap and require the whole cover plate to be removed with the gasket scrapped /replaced.
I guess at this point I should take it to a dealer, ask them to swap it at that rate? for 1hr of labor and $200-300ish for the part?
It looked like it was burning excess oil originally, but didn't seem to be after a fill on level ground. There was significant blue smoke and rattling for a short while on startup since it'd been sitting idle at the mechanic's lot. It went back to running smoothly after warming up.
Mechanic was worried about the solenoid swap not helping, since the Snap-on diagnostic showed the degrees on that bank being 20-30 off and thought it could be a timing chain stretch and might indicate a new engine. The car has been babied and not driven hard - it had followed the premium maintenance plan religiously up until the oil getting a little low earlier this year when someone was in the hospital and it was parked on a hill and as soon as the light went on it was fixed. We weren't sure if a used engine swap would actually be worthwhile versus fixing the timing chain / gallery gasket.
What criteria would y'all use to determine a timing chain / gallery fix vs engine swap. Ours has 164k miles on it, with new cats, manifold, head gaskets around 110k miles.
. The service manual shows that the solenoid swap for a pair is only 0.9hrs, which seems incorrect like they forgot the VK45 has clearance issues that block the passenger side solenoid from being a simple swap and require the whole cover plate to be removed with the gasket scrapped /replaced. I guess at this point I should take it to a dealer, ask them to swap it at that rate? for 1hr of labor and $200-300ish for the part?
It looked like it was burning excess oil originally, but didn't seem to be after a fill on level ground. There was significant blue smoke and rattling for a short while on startup since it'd been sitting idle at the mechanic's lot. It went back to running smoothly after warming up.
Mechanic was worried about the solenoid swap not helping, since the Snap-on diagnostic showed the degrees on that bank being 20-30 off and thought it could be a timing chain stretch and might indicate a new engine. The car has been babied and not driven hard - it had followed the premium maintenance plan religiously up until the oil getting a little low earlier this year when someone was in the hospital and it was parked on a hill and as soon as the light went on it was fixed. We weren't sure if a used engine swap would actually be worthwhile versus fixing the timing chain / gallery gasket.
What criteria would y'all use to determine a timing chain / gallery fix vs engine swap. Ours has 164k miles on it, with new cats, manifold, head gaskets around 110k miles.
Re: '06 M45 P0021
+2month mostly sitting in driveway with a couple 60mi trips.
Is this indicative of a timing chain stretch?
Vehicle lost power when coasting to light. Restarted but sputtering at start and low throttle levels. P0335 error. Checked oil level on 15deg decline driveway, just below low on dipstick and shouldn’t be with new oil change before not driving it much. Adding oil allowed vehicle to start and resume normal operation to drive home, then next morning when attempting to drive to mechanic P0335(crankshaft sensor) code appeared and car sputtered again on start. Increasing throttle allowed vehicle to start but poorly with shaking.
Swapped with new OEM crankshaft sensor, noticed signs of oil leak around bottom of pan. Vehicle started normally, drove around block. Revving engine in neutral had RPM get stuck in a loop near 3k, oscillating between 2500-300 and not going above it. P0335 reappeared, and engine again running poorly and needing assistance to start.
Is this indicative of a timing chain stretch?
Vehicle lost power when coasting to light. Restarted but sputtering at start and low throttle levels. P0335 error. Checked oil level on 15deg decline driveway, just below low on dipstick and shouldn’t be with new oil change before not driving it much. Adding oil allowed vehicle to start and resume normal operation to drive home, then next morning when attempting to drive to mechanic P0335(crankshaft sensor) code appeared and car sputtered again on start. Increasing throttle allowed vehicle to start but poorly with shaking.
Swapped with new OEM crankshaft sensor, noticed signs of oil leak around bottom of pan. Vehicle started normally, drove around block. Revving engine in neutral had RPM get stuck in a loop near 3k, oscillating between 2500-300 and not going above it. P0335 reappeared, and engine again running poorly and needing assistance to start.